Lumber bubble pops | S&P 500 up 14% in first half | Didi IPO muted

The great lumber bubble of 2021 has popped.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE WED, JUN 30, 2021 EVENING BRIEF AS OF WED, JUN 30, 2021 • 04:18 ET DJIA 34502.51 +0.61% +210.22 S&P 500 4297.50 +0.13% +5.70 NASDAQ 14503.95 -0.17% -24.38   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 136.96 +0.63 +0.46% INTC 56.14 -0.61 -1.07% MSFT 270.90 -0.50 -0.18% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG F 14.86 -0.15 -1.00% AMD 93.93 +4.41 +4.93% GE 13.46 +0.37 +2.83% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AMD 93.93 +4.41 +4.93% AAPL 136.96 +0.63 +0.46% MU 84.98 +2.05 +2.47%   EDITOR'S NOTE Bubble warnings have been getting louder and louder in the markets during this historic year, and one seems to have burst at the end of the first half. Lumber prices have come back down to earth after a jaw-dropping rally this spring. The price of lumber futures plunged more than 40% in June alone, suffering its worst month on record dating back to 1978, as supply and demand balanced and speculative trading action cooled.   Just on May 7, lumber prices soared to a record high of $1,670.50 per thousand board feet on a closing basis, more than six times higher than their pandemic low in April 2020. The quick reversal of lumber's monthslong rally came as Americans started to go on vacations again amid the economic reopening instead of taking on renovation and building projects. Many who are fearful of persistent inflation also took comfort in the drastic decline in prices in the face of cooling demand.   "This drop suggests that the cause of that inflation—the mismatch of supply and demand—will not last forever," said Brad McMillan, CIO at Commonwealth Financial Network. "As suppliers across industries get their acts together, those shortages will fade, along with the inflation. That looks to be happening for lumber now and will happen for other inputs later."   The stock market also wrapped up an impressive first half of the year. The S&P 500 gained more than 14% during the first six months of 2021 for its best first half since 2019. Yun Li | CNBC Markets and Investing Reporter @YunLi626 TOP NEWS  Dow rises 200 points, S&P 500 hits record high as Wall Street wraps up strong first half of 2021 Warren Buffett says the pandemic has had an 'extremely uneven' impact and is not yet over Lumber prices dive more than 40% in June, biggest monthly drop on record Robinhood to pay $70 million for outages and misleading customers, the largest-ever FINRA penalty Amazon seeks recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan in antitrust probes of the company Didi shares pare off initial double-digit gains in IPO Trump Organization expects to be charged Thursday in Manhattan criminal case Court overturns Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction, bars further prosecution Options traders are fired up about fintech as big banks look for takeout targets What's the perfect amount to invest in cryptocurrencies? Financial advisors weigh in   TOP VIDEO Here's what's driving the retail investor boom   CNBC PRO Small-cap stocks are up a record ninth month in a row. Here are some of Jefferies' favorites   SPECIAL REPORTS SPACs are transforming the entrepreneurial landscape: Sir Richard Branson 'Great Resignation' gains steam as return-to-work plans take effect   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS